Abrading tool



March 21, 1944.v N` KNowL'roN ABRADING TOOL Filed Oct. 7, 1942 Patented Mai". 2l, 1944 ABRADING TOOL Norwood H. Knowlton, Rockport; Mass., assigner to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 7, 1942, Serial No. 461,148

4 Claims.

This invention relates to abrading tools and is rherein illustrated and described as embodied in a heel scouring wheel provided with improved means for securing a cover upon the wheel body. In United States Letters Patent No. 2,218,538 granted October 22, 1940, in my name is described a botto-m bufng roll covered with a cushion of sponge rubber which yieldably supports an abrasive cover. The periphery of the roll disclosed in said patent is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite slots. Through one of these slots extends a pair of tabs which constitute the ends 'of the cushion. These tabs are gripped between a pair of toothed rolls which are turned Yto tighten the cushion about the roll body. Through the opposite slot extend the two ends of the abrasive cover, these ends being gripped by a similar pair of tightening rolls. Inasmuch as the material gripped between the tightening rolls may vary in thickness, the tightening rolls disclosed in said' patent are spaced far enough apart to accommodate the greatest thickness likely to be encountered. When thinner material is placed between the rolls the compression is not always sufcient to hold the rolls in their tightened position; and

set screws are accordingly provided to prevent the rolls from yielding under the tension of the cover and permitting the cover to loosen. Moreover in cases of very thin material the rolls might not `always grip the material with sunicient force to ldevelop the desired tension.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an abrading tool having improved cover tightening means adapted to operate upon material of all degrees of thickness and without requiring additional means for locking the lcover tightening means in position. In accordance with a feature of the invention the illustrated locking means consists of a pair of tightening rolls,

one of which is mounted upon a bearing journaled for rotation eccentrically with respect to the axis of the tightening roll for enabling that roll to be adjusted toward and from the other roll. In the illustrated device the adjustable roll has a smooth periphery while the other roll has fio operator is thus enabled to use both hands at the same time on opposite sides of the scouring wheel in performing these operations. In this way he can readily determine by feel the degree of compression of the material between the rolls. After tightening the cover he will usually adjust the rolls a little closer together to increase the compression between them and thereby to bind them against slipping back.

These and other features of the invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is an end view of the improved abrading tool;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a portion of the tool taken on the line II-II of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the tool taken on the line III-III of Fig. l.

The body portion of the illustrated heel scouring wheel consists of a web H! (Fig. 3) extending from a hub I2 and having a peripheral flange i4. A pair of end plates t6 and i8 extending from the hub to the periphery are secured by screws i9 to diametrically opposite thickened portions 2i) of the web. In one of the thickened portions 28 is a hole 22; and in the other is a hole 23. A cover tightening and securing mechanism, later to be described, is housed in each of the holes 22 and 23.

Mounted upon the periphery l 4 is a cushioning cover of felt. This cover is not continuous about the periphery of the roll .but is in two half-circular sections Z4 and 26, each covering substantially 180 of the circumference. rIhe inner surface of each of the cushion members 24 and `2t is secured to a reinforcing sheet 28 of stout fabric, The felt members 24 and 26 terminate short of the slot 3&3, but the fabric reinforcing sheets 2S extend all the way to the edges of the slot. A pair of metal plates 32, each secured to the flange I4 by screws 3d, serve to clamp the extended end portions of the fabric sheets 28 against the flange on opposite sides of the slot 30. A filler block 35 of any suitable material is clamped to each of the plates 32 by a screw 3.8. The filler blocks disclosed herein` are composed of a commercial plastic vknown as Texolite. These blocks occupy the spaces between the ends of the felt members and the slot Sii, and their purpose is to provide support for an abrasive cover later vto be described. The filler blocks 36 should be thick enough to bring their outer surfaces about one thirty-second of an inch below the periphery of the felt pads 24 and 26. The filler .blocks may readily be removed for replacement by taking out the screws 38 without releasing the clamped ends of the reinforcing sheets 28, such replacement sometimes being desirable to provide filler blocks of a diierent thickness after a truing operation on the felt pads.

Diametrically opposite the slot 311 is a similar radial slot 49 communicating with the hole 23. The unsecured extending ends of the fabric reinforcements 28 carry tabs 42, and the two tabs 42 in contact with each other extend into the slot 40 and into the hole 23. Each tab 42 consists of a piece of rubberized fabric `belting secured within the folded end portion of the fabric reinforcement. Surrounding and yieldably supported by the cushions 24 and 25 is an abrasive cover 44 of sheet material such as emery cloth. The two end portions of the abrasivev cover extend inwardly in contact with each other between the ller blocks 35 and through the slot 30 into the hole 22.

For tightening and securing the abrasive cover 44 there is provided a roll 45 and a roll 48 which between them grip the inwardly extending ends of the abrasive cover. The roll 4i? has a serrated periphery. A pair of axles 41 extending from the ends of the roll 45 are journaled in suitable bearing holes formed inl the respective end plates l and I3. The axie 4i opposite that shown in Fig. l is provided with a hexagonal socket 5i) for engagement with a key or wrench which the operator holds in his right hand to turn the roll 45. The roll 43 has a smooth periphery and is freely rotatable upon a cylindrical bearing 52. A pair of axles 54 which are eccentric with respect to the roll 43 extend from the ends of the bearing 52 and are journaled in the respective end plates i5 and I8. The near axle 54 as shown in Fig. l has formed in it a hexagonal socket 55 for engagement with a key or wrench which the operator holds in his leit hand to turn the bearing 52 and thereby to vary the distance between the roll 48 and the roll 46.

The inwardly extending tabs 42 for tightening and securing the cushioning covers 24 and 25 are gripped between a pair of serrated roll 5B and 65. The roll 58 has a pair of axles journaled in the respective end plates i5 and I8. The roll 54 has a pair of similar axles 55 also journaled in the respective end plates i5 and I3. One of the axles 52 has formed in it a hexagonal socket 58, and one vof the axles 66 has formed in it a hexagonal socket lil, these sockets being on opposite sides of the wheel to enable the operator to turn the rolls simultaneously to tighten the cushioning cover.

To prevent too easy turning of the rolls 45,

l58 and 59, and of the eccentric 52, the body portions of these members are made about five ten-thousandths of an inch longer than. the thickness of the wheel body in the vicinity of' the screws I9. The tightening of these screws will therefore cause the end plates I5 and I8, which are of sheet metal and resilient, to exert a binding effect against the ends of the body portions of the rotary members, thereby tending to hold the rotary members in their adjusted positions.

It will be noted that in the tightening rolls for the abrasive cover and also in the tightening rolls for the yieldable supporting cover, the

wrench sockets for each pair of rolls are at opposite sides of the wheel. This arrangement is more convenient for simultaneous operation than if both wrench sockets were accessible on only one side of the wheel. The operator can thus draw in the endsl of the abrasive cover by turning one of the rolls of the pair with one of his hands, and at the same time he can adjust the distance between the rolls with the other hand. In adjusting the distance while tightening the cover he can readily determine by feel the degree of compression of the material between the rolls. While he is tightening the cover he will keep the compression just sufficient to maintain good traction; and when he has obtained the desired tension in the cover he will adjust one roll closer to the other to increase the compression and thereby to bind the rolls against slipping back. In a similar manner he can tighten the felt cushioning pads about the periphery of the wheel by turning the tabgripping rolls simultaneously from opposite sides of the wheel.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a finishing tool having a cover-securing device of the type wherein a cover is secured between a pair of tightening rolls, a bearing for one of the tightening rolls, said bearing having an axle extending eccentrically from one of its ends, and a support in which said axle is rotatably mounted to enable the roll carried by said bearing to be adjusted toward and from the other roll.

2. A device for securing a cover upon a finishing tool, comprising a pair of rolls between which the ends of the cover may be introduced, one of said rolls being constructed and arranged to Yabe turned to tighten the cover upon the finishing tool, a bearing for rotatably supporting one of said rolls, said bearing having a pair of axles extending eccentrically lfrom its respective ends, supports in which said axles are rotatably mounted to enable the roll carried by said bearing to be adjusted toward and from the other roll, and means for rotatably supporting the other roll.

3. A device for securing a cover upon a finishtool, comprising a serrated roll and a smooth roll for gripping a cover between them, said serrated roll having a portion adapted to be turned to rotate the roll for tightening the Cover, a bearing on which the smooth roll is idly mounted, means for supporting said bearing for rotation about an axis eccentric with respect to the axis of the smooth roll to enable the smooth roll to be adjusted toward and from the serrated roll, said bearing having a portion adapted to be turned for the purpose of making said adjustment, and a bearing for the serrated roll.

4. A finishing tool comprising a tool body, an abrasive cover surrounding said tool body, a pair of rolls between which the inwardly turned ends of said abrasive cover are gripped, one of said rolls being adapted to be turned to tighten the abrasive cover upon the tool, bearings for rotatably supporting said rolls, one of said bearings being carried by the tool body, and means carried by said tool body for rotatably supporting the other bearing about an axis eccentric with respect to its roll, the eccentrically mounted bearing being adapted to be turned to Vary the distance between the rolls.

N ORWOOD H. KNOWLTON. 

